Convenience trash bag

ABSTRACT

A trash bag affixed to a container, whereby trash is generated as consumer or industrial goods are removed from the container and consumed or used, the trash bag then providing a convenient storage means for the trash. The trash bag is part of the container or, in another embodiment, is removable from the container.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of trash containers. More particularly the invention relates to a bag which is affixed to or within a container to afford a disposal means for trash created when the contents of the container are used or consumed. In one embodiment a plastic container holding unshelled nuts has attached to its side, a plastic bag for holding the shells as the nuts are removed from the container and eaten. The bag can be removable or can be made as an integral part of the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS

No federal funding, direct or indirect, has been utilized in conjunction with the development of the present invention.

STATEMENT REGARDING MICROFICHE RECORDS

No microfiche records are used in the application submitted for the present invention.

PUBLICATION

The invention disclosed in this application has not and will not be the subject of an application filed in another country or under a multilateral agreement that requires publication at eighteen months after filing. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 122(b), this application is not to be published other than in the United States.

PRIOR ART

No prior art can be found which discloses the present invention. Comment is required to understand why this seemingly obvious technology has not been utilized in the past in spite of a long standing need. Historically, trash containers have been considered to be distinct from regular packaging materials and, as such, their form has evolved into a wide diversity of independent bags, sacks and receptacles. The use of both regular packaging materials and trash containers to achieve an integrated result is long overdue. Even so simple a method as including a loose trash bag within a container which holds goods, so as to afford a storage means for the trash generated when the goods are unwrapped is unknown. The packaging industry has jealously embraced the need for (1) secure containment, (2) attractive appearance and (3) suitability for given goods as paramount. Trash containment for this commercial sector is, at best, a remote concern.

The following patents are cited as representative of designs or containment means which ignore such a joint functionality and which address only (1) packaging or (2) trash containment; U.S. Pat. D/348,922, Baxley, Ga., an ornamental design for a trash bag system; US Patent Application 20100282755, Kim, Bum Kee, a portable trash collector, and; U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,243, Bonke, Douglas D, an elastic drawstring closure means for a plastic liner for a receptacle. All of these are remote from the present invention and none teach the simplicity of the joint functionality described herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses an integrated combination of a container and a trash bag to allow trash which is generated from goods contained within the container to be routinely and immediately disposed of in the trash bag. The trash bag can be affixed either internally or externally to the container. The trash bag can be either removable from the container or made a permanent part of it. At present, the use of trash containment means is distinct from packaging means for goods. The present invention provides a convenient disposal arrangement for the trash generated when some types of consumer and industrial goods are accessed and used.

Current disposal means are separate from packaging means, an arrangement which in many cases is inefficient and inconvenient. This problem is completely resolved by the present invention by integrating the design to encompass both functions. The result is an environmentally desirable combination. Although such a configuration is simple, this very favorable result has not been obvious even though the need has been long standing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new configuration for the packaging of goods by attaching a disposal enclosure to a container holding goods.

These and other objects an advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container with an attached removable bag according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B each show a schematic top view of a container with a bag formed by a containing layer and the surface of a container according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2C and 2D each show a schematic top view of a container with a removable bag attached to a surface of a container.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic top view of a container having a lid secured to the top edge of a container with a hinge, a removable bag affixed to the interior of the lid.

FIG. 3B shows a schematic side view of a container having a lid secured to the top edge of the container with a hinge, a removable bag affixed to the exterior of the lid.

FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of a container enclosed by a bag.

FIG. 4B shows a perspective view of a container with a bag attached to the side of a container.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Trash which is generated from packaged goods, as the goods are removed from a container and consumed or used, is currently disposed of in various types of trash enclosures. Currently these trash enclosures are not attached to or part of the containers.

BEST METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The best method for carrying out the present invention is as set out below. A bag is defined to include, but is not limited to, an enclosure, a flexible enclosure, a plastic enclosure, an envelope and a paper bag. A container is defined to include, but is not limited to, bag, a wooden box, a cardboard box, a metal box, a barrel, a can, a jar and a crate. A lid is defined as a closing or sealing element for a container to include, but is not limited to, one or more flaps of a box or the removable and the hinged end of a barrel, box or can. Trash is defined to include, but is not limited to, nut shells, packaging materials and support materials. Closure means is defined to include, but is not limited to, a drawstring, an elastic rim, a tie, one or more snaps, a flap, a velcro fastner and a ziplock closure. Attachment means is defined to include, but is not limited to, an adhesive, one or more snaps, a velcro fastner, a ziplock fastner and means to bond a surface of a bag to the surface of a container.

To understand the range of applications and the details of implementing the present invention, reference is made to the drawings. Referring particularly to the figures wherein like-referenced numbers have been applied to like-parts throughout the description as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings. According to the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a container 2 and a removable bag 14 attached thereto with attachment means 6 and some trash 3 contained in said bag 14, said trash 3 storable therein through an opening 10 as shown by motion arrow 8, consumer or industrial goods 4 contained in said container 2 and removable through an opening 11 therein as shown by motion arrow 9.

FIGS. 2A and 2B each show a schematic top view of said container 2 with a bag 1 formed by a containing layer 13 and the surface of said container 2 according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows said bag 1 formed as a portion of the exterior of said container 2. FIG. 2B shows said bag 1 formed as a portion of the interior of said container 2. FIGS. 2C and 2D each show a schematic top view of said container 2 with said removable bag 14 attached to a surface of said container 2 with an attachment means 6. FIG. 2C shows attachment of said bag 14 to the exterior of said container 2 and FIG. 2D shows attachment of said bag 14 to the interior of said container 2.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic top view of said container 2 having a lid 5 secured to the top edge of said container 2 by a hinge 12, said removable bag 14 affixed to the interior of said lid 5 with said attachment means 6. FIG. 3B shows a schematic side view of said container 2 having said lid 5 secured to the top edge of said container 2 with said hinge 12, said removable bag 14 affixed to the exterior of said lid 5 with said attachment means 6.

FIG. 4A shows a perspective schematic view of said container 2 enclosed by said bag 14, said bag 14 attached to said container 2 with said attachment means 6. FIG. 4B shows a perspective view of said container 2 as in FIG. 4A, but with said container 2 uncovered and with said trash 3 contained in said bag 14. FIGS. 4A and 4B show a closure means 7 to close said bag 14.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention is further disclosed herein below. A trash storage means is defined to be the functional equivalent of a packaging configuration. Said packaging configuration comprising said first container 1,14 affixed by said attachment means 6 to a surface of said second container 2, said consumer or industrial goods 4 containable in said second container 2, said first opening 10 in said first container 1,14, said second opening 11 in said second container 2, whereby removal of said consumer or industrial goods 4 through said second opening 11 and subsequent consumption or use thereof generates said trash 3, said trash 3 containable within said first container 1,14 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2A-2D, 3A, 3B, 4B.

A packaging configuration comprising said bag 1,14 and said second container 2 with said attachment means 6 there between being (a) temporary, whereby said containers 1,14 can be separated or (b) said containers 1,14 are permanently affixed as shown respectively in FIGS. 1, 2C, 2D, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B and in FIGS. 2A, 2B. A packaging configuration comprising said first container 1, 14 attached to a surface of said second container 2, said surface (a) internal to or (b) external to said second container 2 as shown respectively in FIGS. 2B, 2D, 3A and FIGS. 1, 2A, 2C, 3B, 4A, 4B.

A packaging configuration with said second container 2 further comprising a lid 5, said lid 5 rotatably affixed to an edge of said opening 11 in said second container 2 whereby said second container 2 is enclosable with said lid 5, said first container 1 affixed to one side of said lid 5 as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B. A packaging configuration comprising said first container 1,14 affixed to said second container 2, said opening 10 in said first container 1,14 further comprising said closure means 7 to close said first opening 10 as shown in FIGS. 3A,3B.

A packaging configuration comprising said first container 1 and said second container 2, said consumer or industrial goods 4 containable in said second container 2, said first container 1 comprising said layer of material 13 affixed along (a) all of its periphery to a surface of said second container 2, said opening 10 in and central to said layer 13, or (b) a portion of its periphery to a surface of said second container 2, said first opening 10 at and along an unaffixed edge of said periphery of said layer 13, whereby said layer 13 and said surface of said second container 2 form a volume, accessable through said opening 10, whereby said trash 3 is storable therein.

In another embodiment of the present invention, said bag 14 is initially inverted and used to encompass and thereby protect said container 2 whereby when said bag 14 is opened, access to said container 2 is then afforded and said bag 14 is then used to contain said trash 3 generated as the contents of said container 2 are consumed or used as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous other modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the baffles can be comprised of structures which are not flat and/or they can be made of different materials such as porous or have large effective surface areas to equal effect. A new functionality and convenience has been realized by the combination provided by the present invention. A person who is skilled in the required art for this invention is anyone who has used a container for goods and a trash bag. The above disclosure is not intended as limiting and the appended claims are to be interpreted as encompassing the entire scope of the invention.

Reference Numbers Number Description 1. Bag 2. Container 3. Trash 4. Goods 5. Lid 6. Attachment means 7. Closure means 8. Motion arrow, in 9. Motion arrow, out 10. Opening, bag 11. Opening, container 12. Hinge 13. Containing layer 14. Removable bag 

1. A trash storage means comprising a first container affixed by attachment means to a surface of a second container, consumer or industrial goods containable in said second container, a first opening in said first container, a second opening in said second container, whereby removal of said consumer or industrial goods through said second opening and subsequent consumption or use thereof generates trash, said trash containable within said first container.
 2. A trash storage means as in claim 1 wherein said attachment means is (a) temporary, whereby said containers can be separated, or (b) permanent.
 3. A trash storage means as in claim 1 wherein said first container is attached to a surface of said second container, said surface (a) internal to or (b) external to said second container.
 4. A trash storage means as in claim 1 wherein said second container is further comprising a lid, said lid optionally rotatably affixed to an edge of said second opening in said second container whereby said second container is enclosable with said lid, said first container affixed to one side of said lid.
 5. A trash storage means as in claim 1 wherein said opening in said first container is further comprising closure means to close said first opening.
 6. A trash storage means comprising a first container and a second container, consumer or industrial goods containable in said second container, said first container comprising a layer of material affixed along (a) all of its periphery to a surface of said second container, an opening in said layer, said opening central to said layer, or (b) a portion of its periphery to a surface of said second container, said first opening at and along an unaffixed edge of said periphery of said layer, whereby said layer and said surface of said second container form a volume, accessable through said opening, whereby said trash is storable therein.
 7. A trash storage means as in claim 6 wherein said opening is further comprising closure means therefor.
 8. A trash storage means as in claim 6 where said surface of said second container is (a) an interior surface thereof, or (b) an exterior surface thereof.
 9. A trash storage means as in claim 8 wherein said surface is an exterior surface and said layer of material is invertable about said opening whereby said second container is enclosable therein.
 10. A packaging configuration comprising a first container attached by attachment means to a surface of a second container, consumer or industrial goods containable in said second container, a first opening in said first container, a second opening in said second container, whereby removal of said consumer or industrial goods through said second opening and subsequent consumption or use thereof generates trash, said trash containable within said first container.
 11. A packaging configuration as in claim 10 wherein said attachment means is (a) temporary, whereby said containers can be separated, or (b) permanent.
 12. A packaging configuration as in claim 10 wherein said first container is attached to a surface of said second container, said surface (a) internal to or (b) external to said second container.
 13. A packaging configuration as in claim 10 wherein said second container is further comprising a lid, said lid optionally rotatably affixed to an edge of said second opening in said second container whereby said second container is enclosable with said lid, said first container affixed to one side of said lid.
 14. A packaging configuration as in claim 10 wherein said second container is further comprising a lid, said lid rotatably affixed to an edge of said second opening in said second container whereby said second container is enclosable, said first container affixed to one side of said lid.
 15. A packaging configuration comprising a first container and a second container, consumer or industrial goods containable in said second container, said first container comprising a layer of material affixed along (a) all of its periphery to a surface of said second container, an opening in said layer, said opening central to said layer, or (b) a portion of its periphery to a surface of said second container, said first opening at and along an unaffixed edge of said periphery of said layer, whereby said layer and said surface of said second container form a volume, accessable through said opening, whereby said trash is storable therein.
 16. A packaging configuration as in claim 15 wherein said opening is further comprising closure means therefor.
 17. A packaging configuration as in claim 15 where said surface of said second container is (a) an interior surface thereof, or (b) an exterior surface thereof.
 18. A packaging configuration as in claim 15 wherein said surface is an exterior surface and said layer of material is invertable about said opening whereby said second container is enclosable therein. 